Built in the '60s, my hideout is northwest of Baudette and looks at Canada, east across the historic Rainy River, the "Voyageur's Highway."
The half-mile wide river is the road to the amazing Lake of the Woods. My 24-by-24 cabin is an all-day journey from the Twin Cities, but the marathon is worth the trip.
Once settled in, we have a show that is spectacular from the wildlife on the Rainy. Sitting on the deck, watching the constant change of birds and critters sailing and swimming by, we watch a menagerie at work. From otters and ducks diving, to geese and pelicans swimming, to the magnificent bald eagles that swoop down to snare fish, the show from the deck is pure entertainment.
The channel is within casting distance of the floating dock, so fishing is only a few feet away. I have threatened to try for sturgeon from the dock. The river is one of the best in the country for white lake sturgeon. Maybe this year. Relatives are tired of hearing about it.
Other than a boat or snowmobile, there is little traffic. At times of the year, generally spring and fall, one can catch supper a few hundred feet from the cabin. Other times, Lake of the Woods, the walleye center of the world, is 5 miles downriver. The fish are out there somewhere.
John Curtis, Chanhassen
